On Saturday, Pakistan earned an emphatic one-wicket victory and clinched the two-match Twenty 20 International (T20I) series against Sri Lanka. At one point of time, Pakistan were down and out, chasing 173 runs to win, they were tottering at 40 for five. From there, the lower order fought back and gained an unlikely victory. To achieve this triumph, Pakistan Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim and T20 skipper Shahid Afridiplayed vital roles at crucial junctures of the game. Sandipan Banerjee finds out the top five game changing moments of this nail-biting encounter.
Shehan Jayasuriya’s knock: Sri Lanka came into the game 0-1 down and they needed to play an attacking brand of cricket to outplay the Pakistan. They won a very crucial toss and as expected, elected to bat first. The batters came out all guns blazing as both openers Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit some early boundaries. But Pakistan bowlers pegged them back as both Perera and Dilshan fell in quick succession. At 32 for two, the hosts were struggling a bit, but youngster Shehan Jayasuriya played a very responsible knock of 40 off 32 balls. Wickets were tumbling at the other end but Jayasuriya kept going. During the course of his innings, the southpaw hit three boundaries and two sixes. His innings kept the hosts on right track in the first half of their innings. He got out to the left-arm spin of Imad Wasim in the 13th over. READ: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan T20I series 2015, Sri Lanka marks out of 10
Shoaib Malik’s bowling spell: Pakistan veteran had an excellent day out with ball. He was introduced in the attack quite early as opener Perera was punishing the Pakistan bowlers at the start of the match. Shoaib Malik did the job as he removed Perera. Later, his off-spin got rid of another left-hander, Thisara Perera. This wicket put Pakistan in a strong position. Malik bowled three overs for just 16 runs and got two important scalps. READ: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan T20I series 2015, Pakistan marks out of 10
Chamara Kapugedera’s finishing touch: Sri Lanka were five for just 90 in the 13th over. It looked Pakistan would restrict them within 130-140. But the experienced Chamara Kapugedera had other plans. He decided to play fire with fire and produced a timely unbeaten knock of 48 off just 25 balls. His finishing touches not only rescued Sri Lanka, but helped them to put up a challenging total on board as well. Kapugedera’s blitz was decorated with four big hits and two fours. READ: Anwar Ali displays the brighter dimension of Pakistan’s unpredictability
Failure of Pakistan top order: With 173 runs to win, at the halfway stage of the game, Pakistan’s hopes were depended on their top order. They needed a good start. But the young Sri Lankan pacer, Binura Fernando struck twice in his second over and removed both Pakistani openers. Even their middle-order which had the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Malik and Umar Akmal, failed to produce the goods. In the eighth over, the visitors were struggling at 40 for five and the Sri Lankan fans in the stands had started celebrating.
Shahid Afridi and Anwar Ali’s moments of glory: In world cricket, Pakistan have always been projected as the most unpredictable team. Chasing a huge total, they lost half of their side for just 40 in the eighth over of the match. Apart from skipper Afridi, they didn’t have much experience left in their batting. Sri Lanka were ahead in the game with huge margin. But it was one of those rare days, when Afridi’s decided showcase his batting class.
Afridi along with Imad Wasim, started the fightback for the visitors. For the sixth wicket, both added 61 in quick time. However, just after Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark, the skipper got out for a 22-ball 45. They lost another wicket in the next over and the score was 107 for seven. From there an unlikely hero, Anwar Ali took over. Pakistan still needed 66 form 35 balls at that time. Anwar, who is primarily a bowler, scored 46 off just 17 deliveries with four huge sixes and three boundaries. It was mainly because of his power hitting, Pakistan crossed the winning margin. Though Ali lost his wicket in the 19th over, Wasim remained not out and finished the job with four balls remaining. Mohammad Irfan also played his part by taking a crucial single in the very first ball of the 20th over. With this win, Pakistan managed to claim all three series (Test, ODI and T20I) on this memorable tour of Sri Lanka.
(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession.Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan)
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.